As an archaeologist by day, I was first drawn to encaustic painting by its antiquity. Beeswax was originally used by shipbuilders to waterproof ships in ancient Greece. In the following centuries and millennia, the addition of dammar resin and pigment to melted beeswax became an important technique for painting death portraits, religious icons, and other expressions of artistic creativity.

I’ve experimented with different media all my life, but I didn’t take my first encaustic class until about 10 years ago. I’ve been exploring how to use color, line, and texture to build up the layers of my encaustic paintings ever since. I love to paint everyday objects that often go overlooked, an empty bowl or a lone pear, a chair or a stack of books. The natural world is also a source of inspiration, especially seed pods and the other phases of plant life that may not be perfect but are infinitely interesting.

The fun —and the challenge—of encaustic is its flexibility, and recently I’ve started incorporating other media such as watercolor and paper collage. The sky’s the limit when it comes to the variety of tools and techniques one can bring to encaustic painting, and even though I still feel like I’m just scratching the surface, I’m having a blast as I explore!

Upcoming Shows and Events

Ongoing 2019Dragonfire Gallery - Cannon Beach, OR 123 S Hemlock St., Unit 106 Cannon Beach, OR Spring brings a new collection of my work to the walls of the gallery. Check out what's there on the Current Work page.website

Ongoing 2019Art on Broadway 12570 SW Broadway, Beaverton, OR Work changes every two months, with the current rotation lasting through April.website